The purpose of Science in the City program of the Wisconsin Initiative for Science Literacy is to improve the quality of science education in urban areas, where now, especially for minority students, it ranges from merely adequate to woefully deficient. In order to elevate levels of teaching and learning, the program is designed to involve not only students, teachers, counselors, and school administrators, but also parents and guardians, families, school boards, and the community at large. By including the entire community in science education, Science in the City addresses the problems of lack of interest, understanding, and support that often exist in urban schools. The goal is to build home and community involvement through the use of innovative, complementary components; those intended for students and teachers are aligned with national and state standards for science education. In this paper we describe a series of summer student workshops and other hands-on/minds-on activities carried out during the school year.